Chronicle Editor
The impact of the global coronavirus pandemic and Brexit were felt acutely as the 2021 January transfer window shut relatively quietly on Monday night despite a late spree of loan deals.
In total, Premier League clubs spent just £84.2 million in January, with the biggest deal, Amad Diallo’s £37m move from Atalanta to Manchester United, being agreed in the last window.
The dispensing tally represents a vast fall from the £230m last January and a slump of £381m from the record high of £430m in January 2018.
Only 12 permanent deals were completed in the month, with Aston Villa’s signing of Morgan Sanson from Marseille for £15.5m representing the biggest new deal of this window.
The sharp fall in spending has been attributed to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and new post-Brexit immigration rules.
While football matches are taking place in relentless fashion during this condensed season, there are no fans in the stands and clubs across the country – regardless of size – have taken huge financial hits as a result.
There was an added layer of complexity for clubs trying to sign foreign players during the window, too, with post-Brexit immigration rules making it much more difficult to bring in players from other countries.
Foreign players must now pass a points-based system, while there are new limits on signing players under the age of 21.
So what did happen on Deadline Day?
Brighton signed Ecuador international midfielder Moises Caicedo for £4.5m, Liverpool moved to boost their options at centre-back with the double Deadline Day capture of Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles swapped Arsenal for West Brom on loan, Joe Willock departed for Newcastle, while Shkodran Mustafi also left the Gunners to return to Germany.
Elsewhere, Takumi Minamino surprisingly joined Southampton on loan, Josh Maja joined Fulham from Bordeaux and there was a late tussle for Josh King, with Everton beating Fulham to the signature of the Bournemouth forward.
Beyond those deals, it was an extremely quiet Deadline Day.
Having already offloaded Mesut Ozil, believed to be the league’s highest earner prior to his move to Turkey, Arsenal’s squad clear-out continued apace with Maitland-Niles, Willock and Mustafi following Sokratis, Sead Kolasinac and Shkodran Mustafi through the exit door, while West Brom were the most active Premier League club over the past month as they backed Sam Allardyce to save their top-flight status with a total of five new recruits.
Twelve clubs made no permanent signings at all.
So what were the biggest deals in January?
Financially, Diallo’s New Year’s Day done deal was the most expensive of the window, however West Ham signed off a £26m outlay to turn their loan of Said Benrahma from Brentford into a permanent move.
The Hammers were involved in another headline-grabbing switch when Jesse Lingard joined them on loan from Manchester United, while Real Madrid wonderkid Martin Odegaard drew plenty of attention with his temporary move to Arsenal.
As of 11pm, there were only six signings made during the window for transfer fees, topped by Manchester United winger Amad Diallo at £37.2m from Serie A club Atalanta.
As expected, West Ham converted Benrahma’s temporary move into a permanent deal at a cost of £26m after a bit-part start to his career at the London Stadium.
Aston Villa snapped up 26-year-old Marseille midfielder Morgan Sanson for a fee that could rise to £15.5m, while Brighton made a £4.5m Deadline Day move for Caicedo.
Liverpool secured the signature of Preston centre-back Davies for £1.6m, while Arsenal bolstered the youth rank by drafting Herta Berlin 19-year-old centre-back Omar Rekik.
Incoming loan deals
Many of the headline signings were drafted on temporary deals. West Ham snapped up Lingard, while Arsenal swooped for Odegaard to compete with fellow youngster Emile Smith Rowe – while the Gunners also loaned Brighton stopper Mat Ryan as back-up for Bernd Leno.
Wolves signed Real Sociedad forward Willian Jose to cover injured striker Raul Jimenez, while Crystal Palace and West Brom also bolstered their attack by drafting Jean-Philippe Mateta (Mainz) and Mbaye Diagne (Galatasaray), respectively.
The subdued market also affected outgoing deals, with just 34 players leaving clubs on permanent deals, of which only 14 were for undisclosed fees.
West Ham sold Sebastien Haller to Ajax for a window-topping £22.2m – less than half the £45m they paid Eintracht Frankfurt for him only 18 months ago.
Meanwhile, Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen completed a double-raid for Premier League talent by signing Leicester winger Demarai Gray (£2m) and Manchester United midfielder Timothy Fosu-Mensah (£1.8m).
In terms of total incomings, West Brom were busiest with five additions, followed by Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham with three per club, and nine clubs made one signing apiece: Aston Villa, Brighton, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Manchester United, Newcastle and Wolves.
For outgoings, Arsenal were busiest with 11 shipped out on loan or permanent deals, followed by Manchester United, Wolves, Leicester and Tottenham (nine each) – while eight left Everton and seven departed Aston Villa, Brighton, Manchester City and West Ham during the window. – Sky Sports
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